


Runaway

by FromJupiterToMercury



Category: Bon Jovi (Band), Glam Rock RPF, Rock Music RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:22:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 20,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22265551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FromJupiterToMercury/pseuds/FromJupiterToMercury
Summary: We are in 2019, you're a university student. You live with your aunt, and both share one passion : the good ol' rock of the 80s. You sometimes surprise yourself dreaming about living in this era, but it's impossible... Is it ?By circumstances, you end up in 1984... in the same city as some five musicians who dream to finish their first album.Author's note : this writing is pure fiction. Some events may be chronologically incorrect.The introduction is openly inspired by Back to the Future.
Relationships: Jon Bon Jovi/Original Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

“We’re finished. Thank you for today.”

You shut your computer and packed all your stuff in your backpack. It was only 2pm, but it felt like you got up an eternity ago.

You left the auditorium and proceeded to the Faculty of Science. You didn’t study there; but your aunt was a professor of chemistry and it was her pause now, pause that you were going to spend together. You opened the lab’s door and coughed; grey smoke filled the room.

“Hi there!”

She mustn’t have heard you; when she took her head off where it was, she bumped it. You ran next to her; “Oh my, are you ok?”

She looked at you with wide eyes, ran her hands through her messy hair and laughed.

“Yeah don’t worry! And you?”

“Oh, the same. Class, class, class...”

You handed her the sandwich you took from your backpack. She smiled at you and empathetically took a bite of it.

You watched her with a smile. She was the only person who was there for you, when you thought about it. You lived with her, you spent most of your free time with her… “y/n, I love your t-shirt by the way.” …you listened to music with her. It was maybe what linked you the most; rock music. It’s her who made all your musical culture, and lord you were grateful.

You winked when she pointed at your Van Halen t-shirt and took your phone to connect it to the speaker to put some music. The first notes of _Pour Some Sugar On Me_ started.

Both of you sat on the ground and started chatting about everything and nothing. In the background, other glam rock masterpieces started playing. The atmosphere made you think about your favourite daydream; living in the 80s. Imagine going to concerts of your favourite bands when they were at the top, listening to them on the radio, not having people looking weirdly at you when you expressed your musical tastes… You left your thoughts with difficulty and noticed your aunt watching you. Shit did she asked something? She then smiled and got up.

“I have to show you something.”

She disappeared for some seconds and came back with two strange watches. You frowned.

“What is it?”

“Those, y/n, are machines to travel in time.”

You stopped your movements and looked at her with wide eyes. After some seconds where your brain went completely blank, all you managed to do was whispering a “What?”

“Just get up, listen to me, look and don’t say anything.”

She then took an apple that was on her desk, tied the watch around it, and clipped a timer on the fruit. She put the fruit on a metallic plate, and went back next to you with another timer in her hand and a remote.

“Look. I’m going to send this fruit one minute in the past, and make it come back when it left now in the present.”

She looked at you with a big smile on her face, and you nodded, because anyway, what were you going to say?

She activated both timers, and pushed several buttons on her remote. A big flash went and blinded both of you for some seconds. When your eyes started seeing again correctly, you saw… that the apple was still there. “Wait… It didn’t work?”

“Yes it did! Look the timers. The one on the apple shows 2.31pm, and mine shows 2.30pm. That means that the fruit went one minute in the past, to come back in the present as it never left!”

You swore you saw stars in her eyes. She looked so happy you didn’t dare to say anything.

“If someone uses it, no need of a remote of course, you can control it on you.”

You nodded again. You didn’t believe your eyes. Was it true? Did it really happen? How was she sure anyway, it’s not like the apple could say so.

But it didn’t let you indifferent of course. Travel in time? Your secret fantasy would now be workable? No, it can’t be… “Wanna try?”

You jumped. “Try what?”

“Oh stop it. It’s easy. You enter here the date you want, she said while tying the watch to your wrist. We’re the 5th of September 2019… What about the 5th of September 1984?”

She typed on the screen and the date appeared on both of your watches. You were about to say something but she cut you; “Then, you only need to-”

And a big flash happened.

It had felt like a huge vacuum cleaner had swallowed you. You mechanically closed your eyes and didn’t even have the time to proceed what was going on that your feet suddenly touched the ground again.

You coughed. “Oh my god, what was that?”

You were still blinded from the big flash and your ears stiffed. Your aunt was speaking, and then this happened. You started finding back your vision - for the second time in five minutes.

“Seriously, what happened? My eyes hurt a bi-… Hey?”

You didn’t know what happened, but you sure know that you weren’t in your aunt’s lab anymore. You weren’t with your aunt at all by the way. You were standing in what appeared to be an abandoned garage, with your arm still raised from when your aunt put the bracelet on you. Your head was spinning and you took a moment to massage your forehead a bit.

You swept the place and started walking toward the door. Outside, a ray of sunshine caressed your cheek. It was at that moment, under the light, that you noticed the watch was completely destroyed. Smoke was escaping the screen and you quickly removed it and let it fall on the floor.

“Is there someone there?”

Of course there wasn’t anyone. The street where the garage was was empty, but you could hear the noise of people a little further, where what seemed to be a main street.

It wasn’t really a street, but more of a little square. The streets going from it were composed of little buildings, with only 2 or 3 floors. The place was clearly modest; but it felt… like home. You had never seen what was around you right now, but it felt like you knew this place, as you’ve definitely already been there.

A guy on a skateboard passed near you and brought you out of your thoughts. He rolled on something near your feet that made some noise; your attention went on it. It was a torn newspaper. Some pages missed, and it was dirty from being on the ground but the first page was nearly intact and readable. While picking it up, you glanced around you. The way people were dressed… nevermind.

On the first page was a huge picture of Tina Turner with a big title: “ _What’s Love Got to Do With It” hits number one this week._ You frowned, but carried on your reading.

 _The singer accorded us…_ The rest was hidden by the next page that was creased upon it. While putting it together, you saw it.

The date. There it was, on the upper part of the page; the date of the newspaper.

The 5th of September 1984.

No, it couldn’t be. You put the page in your pocket by rote and headed towards the building in front of you.

You needed to ask someone. Having someone telling you that we were, in fact, in 1984, was the only way to accept it for you at the moment. The person would totally not take you seriously, but anyway.

You climbed the stairs and stood in front of the first door. You didn’t know if it was your eyes that didn’t recover entirely from the big flash yet, but the headache that was bearable until now started to be more present. You knocked. Nothing happened. You took support on the door frame, your legs hurting, and feeling like it would give you up at any moment. You knocked a second time and heard a voice, and someone approaching. You touched your forehead. The migraine felt like someone was stabbing your skull. It occupied your attention so much that you didn’t directly notice the door opening.

A tall frame opened, and a blond-headed man appeared in front of you, waiting. You looked at him and blinked. _What odds?_

You recognized him directly, as you knew him for years. Doesn’t everyone have this feeling, with an artist they listen so much to, that you know them and they are a part of your life?

It probably lasted 5 seconds, but in your mind, it felt like an eternity to process to the fact that you entered a random building, knocked to a random door and it is the not-so-random Jon Bon Jovi that opened that door.

He scratched his head through his heavy hair and looked at you, expectantly.

And sometimes, there is just too much information to come to your mind at the same time. You tried to say something but white spots appeared before your eyes, and your legs gave you up.


	2. Chapter 2

“Is she dead?”

“No look… I think she just moved.”

“Oh man… Usually it’s Richie who brings back drunk ladies here.”

“Don’t you dare say this in his presence David, or he’ll throw a tantrum again.”

You heard strangled laughs. It felt like your consciousness was 100% there, but your body didn’t respond. Where were you? What happened? Your latest memory was you in your aunt’s laboratory. Then bribes of you travelling in time and knocking at someone’s door appeared, but it couldn’t be real… Could it?

You slowly opened your eyes to see the blurry, at first, place you were in. You were on a couch, and your members hurt a bit, like the morning after a huge sport session. You felt something heavy on your forehead; something cold. It soothed you and you noticed your headache left. Your position was very comfortable, and you had to force yourself to not fall asleep again. You stirred and turned your face to the right to see two pairs of eyes studying you.

You suddenly sat in the couch. The cold cloth that was on your head fell on the floor in a loud thud. In front of you, sat on a living room table, two blond men. And you knew them. Of course, you knew them. The reality of the far, blurry memory that you associated not even two minutes ago to a dream hit you.

Maybe a minute of silence of eyeing each other passed, and one of the men stood and presented his hand to you: “Hi, I’m Jo-”

“Where are your toilets?” He looked at you in surprise. When he got up, you thoughtlessly followed his movement and did stand too; due to the proximity of the table and the couch, your faces were some centimetres away only.

His eyes widened; “Oh uh… It is at the end of the corridor. Do you-”

You turned, brushing his body in your movement and nearly hit the second man who was still sat with your legs when you walked past him; the blanket that was on your body fell in a stuffy puddle at your feet and you nearly tripped in it in your hurry. You heard one of them mumble something, flew through the corridor and locked yourself in the bathroom in the blink of an eye.

-

**Jon’s POV**

“Man, what the fuck was that?”

“What? She seems lost that’s all. You never woke up after a rough night or what?”

David frowned, not convinced by his roommate but didn’t carry on. He didn’t move; Jon picked up the blanket and went to the kitchen.

The last hour of his day had sure been uncommon. He had a maintenance job in a recording studio, and David in a shop. Today, they both had a day off, and planned to finish writing two or three songs by the end of the day. At a moment, someone rang the bell; and there she was, the girl who just locked herself in their bathroom, standing at his doorframe. At first, he thought it was another junkie who knocked at the wrong apartment. She was dishevelled and seemed lost. But something prevented him to close the door at her face, thing he usually did in those cases. He was about to ask her if she needed help when she opened her mouth… and fainted. He luckily caught her before she fell on the floor and brought her on the couch.

He smiled to himself. Van Halen. Maybe it was because the girl wore a Van Halen t-shirt that he didn’t close the door directly.

-

You pinched the bridge of your nose. It felt like your life escaped you completely, and you didn’t like that at all. You mindlessly put your hand on your pocket and felt a paper.

The first page of the newspaper.

You unfolded it, not really knowing what you wanted to see. And there it was. The date. The bloody date.

5th September 1984.

You weren’t dreaming then. The reality lied in front of you; you travelled in time, landed in 1984, entered a building to ask for any help (like if someone could help you in that situation), and ended up knocking at the apartment of _fucking_ Jon Bon Jovi and David Bryan. And before that, you were in your aunt’s lab and…

Your aunt!

Where was she?

Why didn’t you land together? You needed to find her back. But how? She could be anywhere in Newark. If you were still in Newark… And you weren’t gonna stay in this bathroom all day. But what were you going to say?

“Hi, I’m y/n, I live in Newark, but not this Newark, the Newark of 2019. Yeah, cause actually I come from the future, where you and your group have been superstars for more than two decades. Anyway, I need to find back my aunt who I travelled with, the person who built our time machines, that are actually time-watches but anyway. And you, how are you?”

It couldn’t happen like that. You needed to play a bit.

-

“Ha! Our little runaway!”

The word rang to your ears.

When you came back, you saw David was still sat on the table. Jon came in front of you, and put his hands on his sides, a huge smile painted on his face. _Gosh, why was he so nice with you?_

Both of them were looking at you.

_Oh, yes. An answer._

You cleared your throat, not knowing where to start. “First of all, I’d like to apologize for… for…” _For what?_ “…for this.” David squinted. “I come from far away, I travelled with my aunt. It has been rough and… well you will find it really weird, but I blacked out arriving here and I woke up some streets away, so I entered the first building, and knocked at the first door I could find.” You paused. _You didn’t lie after all_. “Oh, and my name is y/n.”

David spoke; you got his attention. “And where are you from?”

 _35 years in the future?_ “35 hours of travel.” They both looked at each other. You didn’t know if it was surprise, astonishment or suspicion. “And where is your aunt?” You watched your feet. “That’s the thing. When I woke up, she wasn’t there with me. And I don’t know where to start looking for her, I don’t know…” You stopped.

It was like it was the first time since you arrived here you actually listened to your emotions. _But shit, you couldn’t cry in front of them?_

You felt hands on your shoulders and lifted your head.

“Come and sit, I just realised we’ve been asking you questions, but you don’t have a clue of who we are!” You couldn’t help but laugh at this. Jon apparently sensed your alarmed state, and you were grateful.

He led you to the couch, once again. “So, let me introduce myself. I’m Jon, I’m 22 and here is my flatmate, David.” He waved at you, still not moving from his spot. You actually wondered if his ass was glued on the surface.

“We both share this beautiful apartment above a pretty den of drug addicts, with our other flatmate and one of David’s colleague at the shop he works at and who’s currently working. His name is Richie.”

 _Oh my god, it was getting serious._ You really were in the heart of it didn’t you. Jon noticed the expression passing on your face and asked if you were ok. “Yeah yeah I am… integrating the information.” _Of course you were_.

David turned and took sheets that were behind him. It was the biggest movement you saw him do since you arrived.

“One not-so-little thing Jon forgot to mention; we actually hope to not spend our lives living all together and working in shops. We are going to be rock stars.” He took a proud face. “And know that you bothered us in our work.” It wasn’t said bitterly, but a point had been made.

Jon rolled his eyes and his cheeks turned pinker. He approached his face from David’s; “Are you serious? Why did- Oh my god y/n I’m so sorry.”

You laughed.

“So, I arrived in the home of future rock stars? I feel honoured.” David raised his brows and looked at Jon. You decided to play. You advanced a bit in the couch in order to be closer to David, and planted your eyes in his, grinning. “Let me guess.” You squinted your eyes and faked a deep concentration. He eyed you, not getting what you were doing. “You’re the key-board player of the band.” He suddenly moved back, mouth opened in surprise, a huge interrogation point on his face. You heard Jon gasp at your side. “I knew it. Not cool enough to be at the front of the stage, but you couldn’t be the drummer; I’m sure I beat your ass at arm-wrestling.” You pointed at his naked arms. “And I guess you can’t play crossed out chords.”

If you were in a cartoon, Jon’s jaw would touch the floor. He looked at you, helpless. _Who were you?_

David closed his and gulped. You raised one eyebrow. He cleared his throat, and extended a hand to you. “Ma’am. Welcome to my life.” You shook it and laughed.

Suddenly, the door opened. A tall man entered; he only noticed the third unusual person in his living room after closing the door. He stopped and moved a lock of brown, long hair, eyes opened in surprise.

David got up and took you by the shoulders at the same time. “Richie, here is y/n. Our new best friend.” He looked at you. “And him? Can you guess his role in the band, or…?”


	3. Chapter 3

The four of you were sat on the floor around the living room table, eating. The guys proposed you some food; even your shyness to impose yourself to them weren’t high enough to refuse. You were literally starving.

Richie got the situation quickly explained (not that there was a lot to tell). “And what are you gonna do now?” You put your cutlery back. “Well, I thought checking hospitals…” You suddenly got the idea. “Is there a shop where you can buy sorts of electronic kind of stuff here?”

The three of them looked at you expectantly. You passed your hand at the back of your neck. “If our… vehicle got damaged, she will probably try to repair it by herself.”

Jon said: “And her? I mean, she’ll try to find you back.” You raised your shoulders. Yes, she’ll try… But how?

“Anyway, I’ll do that this afternoon.”

“And after?” You responded Jon by frowning. “After? If you don’t find her back. I mean, I wish you do, but… You’re not gonna stay in the streets.”

“Of course she won’t. You’ll stay here!” Richie gave you a big smile. You blushed. “Guys I can’t. I mean, you already did a lot and…” But after all, they weren’t wrong. Where would you go? You didn’t have any money to pay for a hotel room. Or food. “Oh come on. I cook well you know.” David winked at you and you laughed. “I just don’t want to bother you. I already interrupted you, apparently.” You gave him back a wink.

“Well, I know what we will do.” Jon pointed at David. “You show Richie what we did this morning, and you work on the solo pieces we need to place yet. And me, I help y/n.”

Richie squinted and exchanged a look with David. “Deal.”

-

“If she comes here, could you phone us? I’m really worried.” The storekeeper watched both of you suspiciously, the request being unusual, and took the paper where a phone number was written on.

You just came back from two hospitals with Jon, where you gave a physical description of your aunt and her name, to see if she was there. To your relief and your concern that you still haven’t found her, none of the hospitals had welcomed her. Just in case, Jon advised you to give them numbers where they could join you if ever. He gave the apartment one.

As you said earlier, you then went to a shop in the neighbourhood where they sold several kinds of electronic merchandise. You submitted your request to the seller.

After studying both of you, he nodded. “OK, I’ll do that.”

You thanked him and went outside. You sighed. “Well, I don’t know what else I can do.”

“Change your mind!” You turned to Jon and frowned. “Come, something tells me you’ll like it.”

He took you three streets further and stopped before a shop. A switched off neon sign formed a big disc, and “LEROY VINYLS” was written in big letters.

“Come.”

You actually had to blink twice to process what was in front of you. The walls of the little shop were covered by records, and big boxes were laid a little bit everywhere, filled with discs too.

“There is the first floor too! And in the basement, there are some instruments, the room is isolated, so we can play. I know the guy who works here, he is nice and let us reserve the basement sometimes.”

“How did you know? I mean… That I would appreciate that.” He smiled. “First, I highly appreciate your t-shirt. And you made a reference to crossed out accords earlier…”

“Jon! Happy to see you mate!”

You both turned to see a guy going down the stairs with a big box. He put it on the floor and took Jon in his arms, greeting him. He then looked at you and moved back his long hair back. He presented his hand to you. “And you are?”

“y/n. A…” You shook his hand.

“… friend.” Jon smiled. “We came here to play.” You threw him a surprised look. The guy nodded. “The basement is all yours!” He turned to you one last time. “Oh, I love your t-shirt by the way.”

He then disappeared at the back of the shop. You followed Jon downstairs.

It was nearly a recording studio: there were drums, several guitars, some basses, mics… “Pick one!” He swiped the room with his arm and invited you to choose a guitar.

Your gaze was attracted by one, at the back of the room; a turquoise electric guitar. You took it: “I think I’ll take this one.” He whistled: “Nice taste!”

You went to put it on you, but the strap was turned on itself. You swore; the thing didn’t seem to be willing to cooperate.

“Wait, I’ll help you.” He detached the strap in ten seconds, which made you feel stupid. “Hold the guitar, I’ll hook it on you.” He went behind you and did it. “Is it well adjusted?” You turned your head and met his eyes.

“Hi there!”

Both of you jumped.

Jon stuttered: “Guys how… how do you know we’re here.” Richie laughed. “You’re a bit predictable, Jon.” He noticed the guitar tied on your waist. He took your hand theatrically and feigned a hand-kissing. “Lady, let me highly approve your choice.” You laughed. He heard Jon sigh at your side.

“Richie wrote his solo for _Burning for Love_ , and let me tell you…” David raised his thumb. “You need to listen.”

“And it couldn’t wait? Really?”

During that time, Richie picked a guitar and plugged it. He didn’t wait for the others to stop speaking and started. You immediately recognized the piece, of course.

When he finished, he and David looked at Jon for an opinion. He nodded: “Indeed, I love it. Well done Richie.” They clapped hands. “And you y/n? What do you think?”

You raised your thumbs. “Well if you really liked it… Do it.” You were taken aback. Why was it like they made you pass tests?

“Are you serious? Do you think I know how to play all the pieces I like?”

Well, in fact, you did.

He watched you with a proud face. “If you play it well, I buy you the records you want, and I invite you all at the Italian restaurant at the end of the road!”

You considered and nodded. “Ok. Challenge accepted.” You plugged your guitar.

-

“Quatro formaggio?”

“Here please!” You raised your hands. Jon next to you hummed: “Oh my, it smells good! I should have taken that.” You eyed your pizza with envy and started to cut it. David took the bottle and served everyone.

“Margherita?”

You pointed at Richie, in front of you: “The little child here.” David and Jon laughed. The waiter put the plate before him, but he stayed with arms crossed on his chest, frowning. _A little child indeed._

You didn’t know if he was grumbling because he absolutely wasn’t expecting you to play the piece perfectly, because you made him buy you five records or because he had to actually pay a restaurant for four people. Or the three.

You tapped on his foot to get his attention. “Hey. Eat, it’s gonna get cold. Want to taste mine?” You handled him a part, in terms of peace. The power of food seemed to work. “I won’t wait, it’s really good.” He finally gave in, smiled and bit it.

Jon put his cutlery back. “Honestly y/n… Where did you learn to play like this?”

“Well… At home, there was a Fender who belonged to my father, but my aunt – who I live with, if you didn’t get it – doesn’t play, so I had to learn by myself. Listening to music, and repeat it a lot, you know.”

“To have a Fender, your father seemed to have been a man of taste!”

Richie’s smile disappeared when he saw your face fall at the mention of that. Jon noticed it and tried to change the subject. “So, a desert or what?”

You shook your head to clear your mind. All of you said no – enough for Richie’s wallet and your stomachs – and got out.

Jon came next to you: “I have a mattress under my bed, we can move it and put it next to me. Oh, and for clothes we can lend some to you. Or buy ones.”

“First time in a while Jon hasn’t had a wom-” He gave Richie a kick in his ass, and cleared his throat. “Well, it’s not compl-”

“Wait you… you propose me to stay with you?”

David turned back. “Of course! You’re not going to sleep in the street. And we need a good guitarist to replace Richie if he pisses us off too much.” Richie slapped him on the shoulder.

-

Jon switched off his lamp. It wasn’t all dark in the room; there was a streetlight giving it a dark orange shade.

“Can I ask you something? Don’t answer if you don’t want to of course.” You allowed him. “Earlier today… When Richie referred to your father. You know.” _Oh_.

“Well, it’s easy and complicated at the same time. I was living with my father ‘til my sixteen. He has always been a drunk man, I mean, I don’t remember him being sober. At a moment, he started being violent. He never hurt me, but I felt… Find me stupid, but I felt it would come one day. And one day, he threw a vodka bottle on the wall under rage. The thing is, my face was only some centimetres away.” You heard him gasp. “It didn’t seem to bother him though, he fell asleep on the couch five minutes after. Me, I made my luggage and left afoot to live at my aunt’s. We live together since, it’s been four years.”

He turned on his side, in a way he faced you.

“You went to her home walking?” You hummed: “Yep. Only lightened by the neon lights of the city.” He smiled in the dark.

“You are really close, aren’t you?”

“Well, it was the first time I felt like I had a home. Everything I am today, and I have, even if it’s not much, it’s thank to her.”

He frowned. “Somehow?”

“Yeah, I mean… We get on well, but…” You held your pillow tight. “We’re different, and even if I know she loves me and all, I always felt like I imposed myself to her four years ago. At that time, she saw me like… two times in my life? Now we live together, but…”

“I get it. And where are you both going by the way?”

You without knowing it made the same movement and turned on your side. You couldn’t help but answer this at the first person.

“Somewhere I feel like home.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Guys. We’ve got a situation here.”

Jon and you were sat at the kitchen table. Richie just stopped on the phone, and called David who was in the bathroom. He was now standing in the middle of the living room, toothbrush in his mouth, not understanding what was happening.

“I won’t be able to play at _No Limits_.”

You heard “OH”, “AH”, some “Fuck you, Richie.” and a lot of swearing. And you were completely lost of course. You watched them like you were watching a tennis match. David pointed at him threateningly with his toothbrush. “It’s been months Richie! Months that it’s planned! It’s a chance we can’t miss.”

Jon threw hands in the air desperately: “Can we know at least what happened? Someone is hurt, or…”

Richie was playing with the end of his jacket. He passed his hand in his hair. “My mom needs me to plan a part of my sister’s wedding.”

You started eating your cereals again, putting something in your mouth to prevent yourself from bursting.

“She wants me to play a bit during the reception, and needs to hear it before and-”

“Just shut up ok.” David spoke restlessly and ejected toothpaste a bit everywhere: “Say no and come for fuck’s sake, we’re playing at the fucking television, it’s a way to show ourselves! _No Limits_ is the musical show people watch.”

“Calm down, it’s an early evening show, eighty percent of the audience is above 60…” The keyboardist threw him a look. “And David, you know my mom.” He spoke with real fear in his eyes. “She is able to come here and drag me home by the hair.”

Jon took his forehead in his hands. “We’re in the shit. We can’t do it without a guitarist, and out of the question they find us someone we don’t know.”

“I know guys, I…”

“Wait.”

You lifted your head to the sudden silence to see three pairs of eyes looking at you. You gulped.

Richie moved to the table and planted his eyes in yours. He smiled at you, and you saw the others share a look by the corner of your eye. “Hi.” You squinted your eyes.

“Hi…”

“We have to perform on a show called _No Limits_. We chose to sing _Burning for Love_. But I can’t come so…” _Oh no. No no no_.

You got up and turned to the kitchen, like if showing them your back would make them think you disappeared. Richie followed you and literally went on his knees.

“Please!”

“Guys, I’m honoured you seem to think about me to replace Richie at the guitar for a song, truly, but I can’t. I only performed in my own damn room guys! Not in front of an audience, and even less at the television!”

Jon got up and approached you. “Listen… It’s a big chance we cannot miss because maybe people will hear us, and get interested in us. It’s been months that we were looking for an opportunity like this.” He stopped. “And… I could offer you all the records and all the Italian restaurants you want!” You couldn’t help but scoff. You felt your cheeks heat, and he threw you a look. “Plus, we leave tomorrow evening and sleep in a hotel, so we have the entire day before the show for-”

“TOMORROW?” You opened wide eyes.

Richie was still on his knees and looked at you; David waited. _It’s not like you didn’t know the bit after all, but…_

You sighed. “OK. I’ll do it.”

You didn’t have the time to add something before Jon literally took you in his arms, soon joined by the two others. They turned with you in their arms, nearly throwing you in the air while shouting your name. “I hope I’ll be invited to your wedding at least!”

“You sure are. Oh, and if you could replace my soon brother-in-law too? He is a total prick.”

David shrugged: "I could replace him. If I do say so myself, your sister is pretty sex-"

Richie rose a finger. "Don't. You. Dare."

Your moment of euphoria got cut by the phone.

Your feet touched the ground and Richie went to pick up. “Imagine he can come now.”

Jon crossed his arms. “Too late!” He looked at you. “Oh, we need to find our outfits, and-”

“y/n!” The three of you turned to Richie. “It was the record shop we went to yesterday. A woman just came there and asked if a young girl came recently. She gave a pretty accurate physical description of yours.” Your heart sank. Richie smiled. “I think we’ve found someone back.”

David tapped your shoulder and Jon watched his feet.

-

You finally broke apart and watched each other in the eyes. “I thought I would never find you back.” She laughed. “I see you found a pastime.”

“Ooooh easy!”

The guy at the record shop gave your aunt the address, and she directly came. You were standing in Jon’s room while the others were in the living room, for a bit of privacy. She pointed at the mattress and winked.

“They literally saved me you know. I would have been starving on the street, alone!” You opened your arms theatrically. “And you? Where did you go by the way?”

“There is a motel not far from here. I managed to have a little room, and I’m able to work on our return ticket! It should take…” She counted on her fingers. “…some days.”

You couldn’t believe your own brain, but it felt like… You were disappointed. It was not long ago that you arrived, but you were already feeling…

“But I keep you in touch anyway, I know where to find you back now! Just live normally.”

Oh, she could rely on you for this.

You smiled: “Yeah I was just thinking… How did you find me back?”

She put her hands on her sides. “You’re a bit predictable, y/n.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Shopping?”

You emerged from your sleep, needing some seconds to understand where you were.

 _Ah yes, the couch_.

You spent to previous evening with your aunt and came back late. You didn’t want to wake Jon up and slept in the couch. You lifted your face to him.

“We need to find your clothes for _No Limits_. No question you’ll perform with a simple pair of jeans and an old t-shirt of ours. Come on!”

And that’s how your day began: doing all the clothes stores of the neighbourhood with Jon Bon Jovi.

Both of you were currently in fitting rooms in a store, being separated by a curtain that only started at the level of your shoulders, so you could easily speak. You were talking about everything and nothing when you yelped. You saw a blond mass of hair move by the gap: “Don’t lose a finger, that’s all I ask.”

“Very funny. I’m debating with this fucking zipper, I can’t…” You sighed. “I can’t reach it.” You felt it two centimetres away from the tip of your fingers only, but still out of touch.

He passed his arms by the gap above the curtain and proceeded to do it: “The strap yesterday, the dress today… When I won’t be there anymore, you’ll have to learn how to put things on you darling.” You thanked him and turned.

“When you won’t be there anymore? Plan on dying from stress at the show or what?”

He let his arms dangle by the gap. You swore a wind of sadness passed on his face. “Your aunt. Now that she came back you… You know. You’ll leave for where you want to go. This morning, I even thought you left.”

His tone pinched your heart in a way… _Never mind_. You swiped your emotion and took a bitchy tone: “You thought I would leave without saying goodbye to my favourite rockstar?” You reached out to ruffle his hair. “Stop it!” He took a shoe on the side and tapped your forearm with it. You threw him an offended gaze, and both of you laughed.

“And you know… She still has some things to arrange here so… Well, except if you want me to leave the-”

“No!”

He maybe answered a bit too quickly and loud – a woman who passed in front of the fitting room threw you a look. You blushed a bit and changed the subject; you didn’t want to admit you didn’t really want to leave. “So, you found your outfit or what?” He shook his head, like to clear his mind and said: “Yes, but surprise!”

-

You got out of the van and couldn’t help but yawn loudly and stretch.

You spent two hours stuck between David and Jon on the backseat, and you could feel it.

Tico, who owned the car, came earlier to pick the three of you at the apartment. You met him then, and Alec. They were directly super friendly with you.

You all headed to the reception of the hotel you stayed in for the night, the show being the evening after. Tico started: “Hello, we booked five rooms.” He gave the employee the names. He checked several sheets of paper and looked at the drummer: “Sir, we’ve got a little problem. There are… There are only two rooms available.” Alec sighed, and Tico put his hands on the counter. “I’m not asking you how many rooms are available, but the keys of the rooms we booked two months earlier.” The guy started to sweat; “But that’s the thing. We got a problem with the piping of the second floor, and nearly every room of that floor is out of order.” Tico pinched the bridge of his nose. He sighed. “What is your solution then?”

He swiped his forehead: “Well, one of the rooms has two separated beds, and the other has a double bed but it’s a big, big bed. But we could bring a third mattress if you want…” You swore the receptionist took a step back.

Alec turned to you: “Youngs together!”

-

You fixed the ceiling.

As soon as he touched the bed – more like “jumped in the middle of the bed when you entered the room –, David fell immediately asleep and was snoring since.

“Are you sleeping?”

You lifted your head to see Jon, who was on the other side of him. You feigned screaming: “Sorry, I can’t hear you” and pointed at David. He laughed, and you put your head back on the pillow.

“Are you stressing for tomorrow?”

“Mmh… Well, five minutes before the show I’ll sure be dying inside, but now I think I’m too tired to be stressing out.” You pointed again to the body next to you. “Maybe I’ll still be super tired tomorrow and thank to him I won’t be stressing.”

He scoffed at your answer. “The best way to stop stressing is to think about something completely different just before the thing.”

You said exuberantly “Oh, thank you Sherlock. My life has changed now. Never be stressing anymore.”

“Wait, lemme finish! I meant, do something that would completely change what is going on inside your head, what would attract your thoughts to another topic like… like… an action that would simply aspire the stress away from you some seconds before the cameras start filming.”

“Oh I see, like, just kiss me passionately when the count starts then!” You laughed and then acknowledged what just came out of your mouth. _No no no… You couldn’t have_. You just wanted to take your pillow and choke yourself in it. Or go out of the room and run away. You were sure you were as red as a tomato.

Some – long, very long – seconds passed and you heard him clear his throat. “Well… I don’t think your boyfriend would be glad though.”

You frowned. _Was it a way to change to subject or…?_ “My… what?”

“Your boyfriend. You have a boyfriend?”

“N-no. I… Who told you that?”

You heard him scratch his scalp. “No one, I thought-”

David snored loudly and turned to Jon: he threw an arm on him and let a moan escape. You had to bit into your pillow to not burst out laughing. “I see someone is lacking affection here.”

He laughed. “Yeah… Surely”

 _The subject, change the subject_. You suddenly asked about Richie’s tyrannical mother, and it worked; Jon started telling you an anecdote about the time she nearly fainted and forbid him to go out for a month when she saw Richie’s got his ear pierced. You listened and commented, but couldn’t stop thinking about what just happened. You felt… weird. A strange heat spread in your torso, but you forced yourself to not think about it.

“CATS!”

David cut Jon’s story and suddenly sat on the bed. He was pointing at the empty wall in front of you. “CATS!” Both Jon and you exchanged a look; it was going to be a long night.


	6. Chapter 6

Your fingers were tensed around the neck of the guitar. Playing in front of an audience was definitely something you wanted to experience one day in your life, but not in this circumstance. A bunch of cameras were situated some meters away from you, and a couple of guys were busy on it. Behind, the public was standing; there were at least a hundred people chatting together, not minding you at all. If they knew they were going to assist to the first performance on stage of one of the greatest rock band ever… Well, not the complete band. Playing at Richie’s place, even if he suggested it, even if the whole band agreed, even if it was only for once… You were unease.

“Are you alright?” You jumped; you didn’t notice Tico approaching you. You shrugged. “Is this a rhetorical question? We are literally playing on the television, how can I be alright?”

He laughed and put a protective hand on your shoulder.

“It’s just a local channel.”

“A local channel? Yeah, a New Jersey local channel, which means not local at all.”

“I know it’s easy to say it but… Try not thinking about that?”

You both exchanged a look and laughed. This was a shitty piece of advice, but laughing changed your mind and after all, it was their first time too. Tico tightened his hand on your shoulder and went to set himself behind his drums. David was already checking his keyboards, and Jon came out of the wings, joining you. He was a bit paler than usual and played with his hands.

“Hey.”

You shared a stressed look.

“Hey. Everything alright? Your guitar is correctly attuned?”

You nodded. A complete answer was useless, you knew he asked it more because he didn’t know what else to say. During the day, you didn’t talk about your little conversation you had last night. After getting used to David’s chaotic sleep, you fell asleep. The keyboardist woke you up in the morning; he looked super rested and vented the comfortability of the mattress to Jon and you, both half-awaken with dark circles till the middles of your cheeks.

You spent the rest of the morning and a good part of the afternoon at rehearsals, and the hour before the show at the outfits and make-up preparations.

You said: “It’s sad Richie is not there. I mean… It’s your first time at the TV, it’s supposed to be a special moment for you as a band.” You ran your fingers through your hair and watched your feet. “I feel like I’m not at my right place, it’s a pity you can’t experience that together, and Richie is a better guitarist than me, I mean...”

He looked surprised.

“Oh don’t say that, you heard him. Let’s just pray his mom didn’t kill him.” You laughed. “And I think he is actually relieved to avoid this episode. He doesn’t look like that, but he is easily stressed.” He touched your arm. “And you know, you are super talented. I heard you. We heard you. And if Richie said you played well too, then you really do. And you know…” He scratched his hair. You swore you saw his cheeks starting to get pink under the make-up. “You know I’m kinda glad to experience this with you.”

You lifted your head.

You started to open your mouth when Alec burst on the stage and shouted “ONE MINUTE! The direct starts in one minute!”

Jon shook his head. He removed his hand from your arm and put them on his cheeks, like to hide it. “Anyway, I’m sure it will be fire.” David joined you. “Guys, it’s horrible.” He showed you his hands; they were trembling. “Do you know what to do to eliminate stress?” Jon and you instinctively looked at each other and turned bright red in a matter of seconds, now the colour visible through the foundation for sure.

A guy of the production came beside you and urged you to take place. David went back, Jon proceeded to the centre of the stage. You tapped your cheeks.

A red light appeared above the camera in front of you. God, it was starting to get real.

The generic of the show started. A guy with a bright pink suit burst on the stage, and people began to applaud et cheer up. “Welcome to _No Limits_ , the best way to spend your Friday evening before the news! Tonight, we open the show with a discovery; a local rock band called Bon Jovi is here to perform one of their songs.” He approached Jon. “So, can you introduce us to what you are going to sing?” He nodded and answered with a voice you noticed higher than usual. “We are going to sing a song called _Burning for love_ , that will figure on our first album that we hope will air before the end of the year.” The audience applauded again and the presenter thanked for the answer, not seeming to give a single shit, and wished good luck. When he left the stage, the lights changed and the cameras began to move. _It was starting._

Some seconds passed and Tico gave the measure. You took a deep breath and concentrate yourself. You all started playing,

Jon began;

_I've been lied to and, you been cheated_

_I've been cried to, you been mistreated_

_I've been watching you, you want action_

_You need love and I need satisfaction_

The pressure on your shoulders left little by little, you started to relax. You were quite beginning to enjoy the moment. You approached the mic for the chorus.

_I'm burning for love_

_Filled with desire_

_I can't stand the heat_

_And my heart's on fire_

Your stress had completely left you. Witnessing Jon perform was incredible. It was like he was a different person of the nearly shy, reserved person who was with you some minutes ago. He moved, played with the cameras. At a moment, he turned and looked at you. You exchanged a smile.

_You're the victim it's in your eyes_

_I'm the suspect and love's the crime_

_Tensions mounting, bodies shaking_

_I can't take the anticipation_

You were concentrated on your instrument, but you’re sure people in the public were moving on the beat.

And now was your moment. The solo that you played a hundred times and a thousand times in your head came. In the corner of your eye, you saw the cameras focusing on you. Your fingers moved on the neck of the guitar, you gave it all to it and didn’t mind the chords scratching your tips. You head banged on the drums and the bass resonated in your chest.

Jon took the mic back.

_Now that I got you in my sight_

_Can't take another sleepless night_

_Oh, no, no_

_You can run but you can't hide_

_You're the only one I need_

_To feel the fire inside_

He jumped next to you and looked at you. It was difficult to put a name on what you felt, but it was heavy. He placed himself against you, and moved his head in a way to invite you to sing with him. You never did it; but it didn’t matter. You approached the mic.

_I'm burning for love_

_I’m filled with desire_

_I can't stand the heat_

_And my heart's on fire_

You looked up and saw he was staring at you. You supported his gaze and carried on; you were just there, both of you, wrapped in the music.

_I can't get enough_

_It's down to the wire_

_I'm making my move,_

_I'm looking for you_

_I'm burning for love_

You did the last notes of the song and stopped. The public cheered. You turned and shared smiles with the others. Jon pressed himself on your right, Alec on your left and both David and Tico joined you. You bowed.

The presenter came back, thanked you and went next to the stage, where the show continued. Staff people made you leave to the wings.


	7. Chapter 7

“A last one!”

You watched Richie drink his fifth “last one” shot of the evening. Jon and you exchanged an amused smile.

You directly drove back after the show. Alec and Tico went back home, but the level of adrenaline was too high with the younger members of the group to simply go home.

Richie joined you all and you decided to go out in a bar he knew. Problem: at the entry, you had to show an ID to confirm your age, but you didn’t have it. _It was still in 2019_.

“But she is… My sister!”

The bailer looked at Richie suspiciously, just like the three of you. _His sister? Was it the best argument he found to make you enter?_

He literally stuck his face against yours and watched the guy. He frowned and crossed his arms. _God, he was going to beat your asses._

“Please sir, she is my twin sister, don’t you see we look like each other? She just arrived in town and I want to show her my favourite club. We’re the same age!”

_Twin sister? Was he completely mad?_

You heard David scoff behind you. Richie started battling his eyelashes, and you couldn’t help but laugh.

The guy scanned you and sighed. “Fine.” He opened the doors.

And here you were. The trendy, full of ambience, super cool bar that Richie sold you earlier wasn’t really what you expected.

There were not more than twenty people, – honestly, why was there a bailer? – a little room to dance, a DJ set behind his decks and a little stage for karaoke. But the music was good, and you even improvised one at a moment.

It has been maybe two hours now that you were there, and the four of you were at the bar. The bartender felt the good clients you would be and started selling you all sorts of cocktails, that Richie empathetically took for you all, of course. You started to feel the effect of alcohol; your movements seemed slower, and you stupidly laughed at every pseudo-jokes Jon said. Was it the alcohol though?

David and Richie were currently in a heated debate about whether the right way to eat cornflakes was to put the milk before or after – _really_? – when Jon tapped on your arm. “Wanna dance or stay assist to this masterpiece of conversation?”

You rolled your eyes theatrically: “Thank you my saviour!”

You both laughed and went to the dancefloor.

You were dancing for twenty seconds when the music changed. The iconic guitar riff resonated into the room; you exchanged a look; the mood of the song was clearly different. You hesitated if you had to start this slow with him but he answered it for you by grabbing your hand and putting his other on your back.

He acknowledged his sudden gesture and threw you an interrogative look; you smiled and put your head against his cheek.

_Time, it needs time to win back your love again_

_I will be there, I will be there_

_Love, only love can bring back your love someday_

_I will be there, I will be there_

Some couples joined you on the dance floor. At a moment, your movements lead you to face the guys, further at the bar. You saw David take a bottle behind the bar when the barman was away and fill Richie’s glass, while this one crossed gaze with you and winked. You rolled your eyes.

_Fight, babe, I'll fight to win back your love again_

_I will be there, I will be there_

The tempo increased. You both let go of your holding hands at the same time; he put his on your side, yours on his shoulder, like you needed to hold each other completely to not get lost in the music.

_If we go again all the way from the start_

_Is there really no chance to start once again?_

_I'm loving you_

You closed your eyes. You lost all reference to the outer world.

_Try, baby, try to trust in my love again_

_I will be there, I will be there_

_Love, our love just shouldn't be thrown away_

_I will be there, I will be there_

Your hand that was on his shoulder tightened. You breathed deeply; you felt a bit out of breath, even though you were nearly not moving.

_I know what you've been through_

_You should give me a chance, this can't be the end_

Your head was spinning. Your senses were altered. _Alcohol?_ No, it wasn’t like you couldn’t control your senses anymore… it was more like they were accentuated.

_I'm still loving you_

_I need your love_

_I'm still loving you_

Fuck it. The guitar was vibrating inside you, well you assumed it was that. You held him closer, if you could; you melted into him.

His hands clawed at your sides, like he had the same debate than you inside him.

His mouth was just next to your ear.

_Still loving you, baby_

_Still loving you_

_I need your love_

He moved and you felt his cheek scrub again yours.

“It was _Still Loving you_ , a brand-new song by Scorpions!”

You opened your eyes. It felt like a huge hand took you both and threw you back in reality. You moved back to face each other. The DJ talked a bit and you heard the crowd cheer to the presentation of the next song he chose.

You broke apart, you didn’t know where to look at. You both came back to your friends.

Richie seemed to be in the middle of an existential crisis, looking for the meaning of life in the bottom of his glass and David emptied his in one trait.

As soon as you sat, the first notes of _Wake me up before you go-go_ resonated through the bar. David got up and shouted at Jon: “Dude! This is our song!” He didn’t let the last one the time to answer when he gripped him by the arm and led him back on the stage to sing. You shook your head, to come back in the mood. He threw you a “help me” look, and you raised your shoulders in a “sorry” way. It amused you to imagine the rockers sing the last pop hit.

You laughed and turned to Richie. You frowned: he wasn’t all joy like some minutes ago. “Are you OK?” He looked at you and jumped a bit, like he just remembered you were there. “I think I shouldn’t have drunk that last shot. My stomach is screaming at me.” You shrugged. He continued. “I think I… I…” You squinted. The lights were dim, but you clearly saw his face turning too green to be normal. You didn’t hesitate and grabbed him from the high stool to drag him outside.

From the stage, Jon noticed you. You pointed at the door and then at Richie, hoping he would get it.

You just had the time to make some steps outside when he fell to his knees and threw up.

You walked a bit and breathed deeply; the fresh air soothed you, and helped you see clearer.

He got up and looked at you: “I think we should head home…” You smiled at his childish expression. “Can you bring me back?”


	8. Chapter 8

“Hey y/n! Catch this!”

You turned to Richie, and the landscape around seemed to turn with you too. You had the feeling of being on a boat in the middle of a storm. You closed your eyes three seconds to repress the urge to throw up, and looked at Richie. It seemed like you inverted roles: he now was full of energy, and your stomach was starting to threaten.

He had a football ball in his hands, that he certainly picked up from an open garden.

“Richie put it back, it doesn’t belong to you.”

“I touched it, so now it does! Catch it!”

He raised it above his head for the impulse, but the ball fell from behind and rolled below a car. He turned to see where it was, but didn’t notice the trajectory. “Oh my god. It just… disappeared.” He pouted like a five-year-old and swore.

You laughed before the comical situation and joined him. “Come on Richie, it’s time to go-” “SHHHHH.” He put his finger on your mouth. “Don’t shout, you’ll wake Jon up.” You removed his hand and cocked an eyebrow: “Richie. We’re in the middle of the street.”

He watched left and right. “Oh.”

You laughed and put your arm below his armpit for support and progressed toward the building. The cold air was pleasant and your stomach calmed down.

“Hey y/n.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you love him?”

You turned your face to him. “Who?” He smiled and put his head on your shoulder. “Jon of course. I’m sure you would make a very cute couple and would make beautiful babies.” He then took your cheek between two fingers, like to a child. You made an embarrassed laugh and removed his hand. You thanked the night to hide your blushing face. “Oh stop it. Why would he like me? First of all, he knows me for a few days. And I’m nothing special. Look at him, he could have all the chicks he wants.” You dragged him on the stairs and took the keys out of his pocket. “See? You don’t say you don’t like him. And you said “he knows ME for a few days”, not “we know each other for a few days”, which means you feel like you know him a lot, and-”

You sat him, well, more let him fall on the couch and threw a pillow at his face. You took off your shoes, and he did the same. “I see mister Sambora is very far-seeing for a man who drank half of the bar’s stocks.”

You left in the kitchen to serve him a glass of water. You hoped he was speaking with an alcoholic-inspired mind, and will forget everything in the morning. When you turned to go back in the living-room, you nearly bumped into him; you haven’t noticed him standing right behind you.

“Lord Richie, you can’t-“

“Can you play guitar?”

You sighed.

“Yes, I can, you do not remember that I played with you all and literally took your-”

“Yeah, but I mean… Can you really play guitar?”

You lifted an eyebrow. He didn’t wait for your answer and dragged you in his room. You never entered it; the place was, to your astonishment, well tidy. A guitar was hung to the wall, two others laid against it, and a last one was on the double-bed. You laughed. “I see you have good company during the night.” He jumped and took it, plugged it in the amp and presented it to you. You gave him a questioning look.

“Play.”

“What?”

“Yeah!”

“But the neighb-”

“Oh shut up, the neighbours don’t give a shit either. Plus, they are probably high enough either to not hear anymore or to forget it by the morning.”

You took the instrument hesitantly.

“Okay, but play with me.” He smiled. He took another guitar, plugged it and looked at you. Fire was in his eyes. “Go!” He didn’t wait for you and started, soon recognizing _Smoke on the water_. His movements were precise and his face concentrated; he didn’t seem drunk anymore. He gave you a look; you smiled and joined him.

The classic piece mutated into jaming; you both climbed on his bed and gave it all like you were in front of an audience.

You started to jump and shout at the same time; you weren’t in a poor district of the New Jersey anymore, but in a stadium. Richie jumped with a bit too much enthusiasm and banged his head on the ceiling; you both stopped and burst into laughs.

You couldn’t stop yourselves and sat on the bed; you were crying. “Oh my god, are you ok?” He scrubbed his head.

“You can’t ask me that while cry-laughing. But yeah, I’m ok. Or I don’t feel pain anymore due to the alcohol, it’s a possibility.”

“Personally my senses are still well awake. My shirt stink, I don’t know what the guy behind me at the bar smoked but Jesus.” You frowned while smelling your top. He got up, opened his wardrobe and threw a t-shirt at you. You unfolded it and read what was on it: “ _Guitarists finger faster_? Are you serious?” You laughed. “Put it. I don’t want a stinking person in my bed.” He sat on the edge on the bed, his back at you. You laughed and removed your dress; the t-shirt was long enough to reach the middle of your thighs. “Really? Well, I heard some anecdotes…”

He moved back when you tapped on his shoulder to put his back against the wall; you did the same but put your back against the end of the bed to be somehow in front of him.

He said: “Don’t bring that up. That was crazy.”

“Innit.”

“But not the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

“Ooooh, I see. But you’re in your early twenties, you still got time to do stupid things you know.”

“How can you be sure about that?”

You smiled with a hint a nostalgy. _If he knew…_ “So, what is the craziest thing Richie Sambora has done in his life? Well, except getting his ears pierced and nearly get kicked out of the house by his mom for that.” He mouthed a “bitch” and threw a pillow at you.

He then scratched his chin and watched the ceiling. “Well… Joining this band.”

You raised eyebrows: “How come joining a band is the craziest thing you have ever done? I thought you would say something like stealing something big in a shop or… going naked outside.” You shrugged, but when you watched his face, you spotted sadness relaxing his muscles. You sat straight.

He spoke: “You know… I had to say goodbye to things when I engaged myself in this adventure but… I know it’s new, and we’re only together as a band for some months, and that the album, if he comes out, is coming to an end pretty fast, but sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it. If it wouldn’t be better to stop it and not hope too much to not be too sad if it doesn’t work out.”

“You have to carry on.”

He lifted his gaze towards you and frowned to your assured tone.

“What?”

“I mean… With what I saw… I think… You should lead this to the end.” You scratched your head and avoided his eyes. He looked at you suspiciously and seemed to think. “Mmh. And you, what is the craziest thing you’ve ever done?”

Well, it’s not like you had nothing in mind, but you couldn’t say it.

But after all…

Why couldn’t you? He was drunk, you were drunk, he won’t remember it in the morning, maybe you neither, or you could put that on behalf of alcohol.

“Hello, someone there?” He agitated his hand before your eyes.

“Travel in time.”

He laughed: “No, but seriously. Don’t tell me you never did something crazy.”

You were speechless. He gave you the opportunity to come back to what you just said, but nothing came out of your mouth. And inside you, you didn’t want to. His smile left his lips little by little by the time he saw you didn’t add anything and remained silent, mouth half open. If his forehead was transparent, you’re sure you would see his brain racing.

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t mock me?”

“Why should I? What you just said seemed completely mad but… You seem sincere.”

You gave him a sad smile.

“You shouldn’t trust people so quickly after meeting them, Richie.”

“Oh don’t worry. I don’t.”

Sympathy.

That’s what was in his eyes at that moment.

He waited.

And it was enough for you to start speaking.


	9. Chapter 9

It felt like a hundred knives stabbed your head at the same time. You didn’t manage to open your eyes at first and stirred. Your arm bumped in something hard and an electric noise came, followed by a groan, coming from a little further in the bed.

You opened your eyes and scoffed; the light made your headache feel even worse. You sat in bed and watched around you. What your hand touched was one of the guitars you used yesterday, and what groaned was Richie, whose face was on the other side of the bed, snoring mouth wide open.

What happened yesterday – _well, more some hours ago_ – came back to your mind. You remembered going out with the guys, coming back to the apartment with Richie, improvise a concert together, and…

 _Fuck_.

And telling him the truth. The memories were blurred, but you remember telling him pretty much everything, the mood being suitable to confessions, and falling asleep in the position you were in. You looked at him. Well, it didn’t seem to prevent him from sleeping… Maybe he won’t remember after all.

You watched the clock. 1pm. Not bad for a following evening. From what you knew, David and Jon weren’t back yet when you fell asleep, so they could probably be still sleeping, but far noises told you otherwise.

You scratched your eyes and yawned. You swore you could smell coffee, and it gave you an impulse. You moved Richie’s legs and got up. You didn’t bother to wake him up, and opened the door slowly.

You arrived in the kitchen; David and Jon were having breakfast. You waved and enthusiastically said hi. When they heard you arriving, they suddenly stopped talking. Jon muttered a shy “hello” and didn’t even look at you, keeping his back turned. David waved back and smiled, but something was weird, like a shy expression on his face.

You frowned, but decided to not pay attention to this. You opened the fridge, took what was necessary for you to eat, and went next to David on the dining table. No one opened his mouth. You broke the silence: “How was your night?”

David turned to you and said: “Short. I knew I should have come home earlier but the atmosphere was way too good! Did you know that-”

“Less good than you.”

Both of you turned to Jon. He didn’t wait for David to finish his sentence to spat that out, and carried on eating. You didn’t directly get it and assumed it was because his night was shorter than yours, even though the option didn’t satisfy you. David got a shy laugh and was about to take his speech back where it was when Jon got up. “I’m going to the studio. See you there. Don’t come too late, it would be cool if we finish two tracks by the end of the day.”

He stopped right before opening the door and looked at you, for the first time of the day. “Oh, and nice t-shirt by the way.”

When he closed the door, you turned to David: “What the fuck just happened?” He too seemed to have forgotten how to bear your gaze. You were about to make a point about it when Richie came. “Hi ladies!”

He kissed both of you on the cheeks.

“Jon is still asleep?” You chuckled mockingly and crossed your arms: “He just left for the studio. I don’t know what happened to make him be so pissy this morning, but it felt like I had a teenager in crisis in front of me.” Richie sat at Jon’s place and began eating what was left in his plate. “Maybe there wasn’t hair spray left in the bathroom.” You couldn’t help but let a laugh go at Richie’s pun and he laughed with you.

“He’s persuaded you slept together last night.” You both stopped and looked at David.

“ _What_?”

“Yeah, we slept together. We came back from the bar, played guitar and fell asleep on my bed after chatting a bit.” You swore Richie threw a look at you at the end of his sentence.

David sighed. “You got my point, Rich. He thinks you _slept_ together. He saw you leave the bar together, and when we came back y/n wasn’t in his room, your shoes were at the same place in the living room and…” He was playing with his hands, looking like a child telling his parents he failed a test. “And this morning you came out of Richie’s room, with his t-shirt and-”

You got up and threw your arms in the air. _Nice t-shirt_. You got it now. “Oh my god, where are we? In a sandpit? Did he really grumble like that because he thought I had sex with Richie cause I slept in his room? Because it’s well-known that two people can’t sleep in the same bed without having sex, right?”

You were pissed. Both David and Richie were looking at you, not daring to say anything. David was the first to talk: “Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s because he’s tired, and we work a lot, and when you add the stress…” You looked at him suspiciously. He ran his hand through his hair. “Well of course it doesn’t give an excuse to the way he acted with you, but I’m sure that when we’ll come to the studio, he’ll be normal.”

You weren’t convinced, but what could you say?

It was nearly 2.30pm when the three of you arrived at the studio. At first, you wanted to stay at the apartment, but Richie and David insisted on you to come.

Tico, Alec and Jon were speaking over sheets filled with lyrics. You approached the little group and greeted the drummer and the bassist, but ignored Jon. Two could play this game.

Walking under the still hot sun of September with a sweater wasn’t a good idea; you removed it. Richie called you; “I see you removed the beautiful shirt I lent you!”

You laughed and punched his shoulder gently; you didn’t notice Jon eyeing both of you from the opposite end of the room.

David asked which songs they were going to record, and they all started fighting about it. You rolled your eyes and went to grab a bottle of water on the piano. Next to it was several lyrics sheets. You smiled. Of course, you already knew them _._ You were about to take a page when two hands came from your side and put it back on the piano. You jumped and turned your head to him; Jon was watching you like you discovered his biggest secret. _Why wasn’t he in the row instead of watching every one of your movements?_

Richie stormed behind you and took both of you in his arms. “Ahhh the cold war is getting closer to the end? So, we’re doing the number 3, Jon.” He tapped his friend’s shoulder and left you.

You turned to him. He said, while avoiding your gaze, to change: “Please y/n, could you not touch my things?”

The cold war wasn’t getting closer to an end. You threw him a dark look: “Jon. I don’t know what I did to you, but if you deigned looking at me at least once today, it would be easier.”

And he did. He planted his blue eyes in yours. His cold expression caught you off guard at first, but you opened your mouth to say something when:

“Shit!”

Richie swore. “They will hear me. It happened last month!” He got up from where he was with his guitar in one hand; two chords dangled miserably, touching the floor. David chuckled. “Dude. If it carries on like that, we will spend more money on your guitars than on recording the album.”

Richie watched his friend and presented him his best middle finger. “Anyway, we can’t carry on recording without an electric guitar, so I’ll have to go now. The shop is at the end of the street, it will give us a pause.” Alec dropped his bass, shouted “Cigarette pause!” and jumped outside.

The guitarist took his wallet and checked it. You got up: “I’m coming with you. I need air.” The room didn’t have any windows and it started to get hot in here; with the number of people in it added to the not-so-cold weather. _Plus the shitty atmosphere._

He joined you when you heard someone chuckle. You didn’t need to turn to know who it was, and it seriously started to get on your nerves.

You crossed the room in three steps and planted yourself in front of him.

“Got something to say? We would all be super glad to laugh with you, Jon.” Tico left his drums, intrigued. By the corner of your eye, you saw him whispering to the two others. The poor guy wasn’t following what was going on.

You were pissed. You didn’t know if it was because of the injustice of the situation, Jon being mad at you because of nothing, or just the fact of Jon being angry at you. He moved and raised his hands, saying on a sarcastic tone: “Oh no, just go. I don’t want to interfere with you. Just don’t take too long with the prolongations of your little walk; we have songs to record.”

“Oh, I see.” You approached him. Your bodies were only some centimetres away. “I am the problem.”

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked above your head, still not bothering looking at you.

“You just… slow down our rhythm.”

You raised your eyebrows. “In which ways do I slow you down? I don’t remember you complaining about me _slowing_ you down when I had to integrate a piece in some hours to save your ass at the television.”

The three guys were watching you successively, like if they were watching a tennis match.

“Integrate? Oh yeah, let’s talk about your integration in this group, y/n.”

You blinked, his attitude taking you aback.

You heard a quiet “Jon, stop, you know it didn’t happen” from Richie behind you. Jon threw him a quick look and planted in eyes in yours. You would have preferred he continued looking otherwhere; it was like his gaze planted your heart.

There you were. Rage filled you: “For god’s sake Jon, I didn’t fuck him! He told you, I told you, what else do you need?” You sighed. “God, do you hear us? We do look fucking ridiculous. Leave it-”

“Yeah, leave it. I think you should and go find the “home” you talked about. I hope you’ll find it.”

As soon as he finished his sentence, he opened his eyes wide, as if he only realised now what he had said. But it was too late. His whole body settled down and his face fell. The world stopped working around you. The three others were completely still, but at a moment Tico made one step further, like to be ready to catch you if you jumped at his throat.

But you didn’t move. His sentence felt like an arrow planted in your heart. The speed at which it came out of his mouth added to the fatality of it. Rage left your body to let place to a sharper emotion.

You kept staring at him, waiting for you didn’t know what. His chest was heaving. What reactivated the time was Alec who entered the room.

“y/n? The phone rang, it was your aunt. It seemed important, she asks you to join her when you’re done here.” He joined you and watched Jon, then you. “Uh… What happened?”

You moved; it felt like your feet weighted tons. “I am. I am done.” You left your place and took your sweater. Your mind was completely empty.

David tried to interpose himself between you and the exit, but the look you threw him made him stop.

You stormed out.

-

You quickly looked at yourself in the window before knocking at your aunt’s door. You shook your head and tried to wear a normal expression.

She opened.

“y/n! Come.” You entered the room and threw a circular look at the complete mess. “Do they really allow you to do that here?” She answered you with a finger on her mouth.

“Approach.”

She took you by the shoulders and led you to the drawer. On it were placed two nearly similar watches that you used to travel in time. “They are nearly done. Just two or three pieces to find and we can go home!” She jumped in your arms and hugged you.

 _Home_.

The last word rang to your ears.


	10. Chapter 10

You stayed some seconds in front of the door, lost in your thoughts. You wanted to talk to the boys, but to say what? Soon, you’ll have to leave.

Forever.

You opened the door – that wasn’t locked, of course – and entered the apartment to see a lonely Jon, sat at the kitchen table.

When he saw you, he got up like he was on springs. He looked at you like a child who is afraid his parents are gonna shout at him. You frowned and smelled the air; did it smell like… pizza?

Despite the weird scene in front of you, you removed your sweater and proceeded to the kitchen. You were thirsty.

You passed before him like he wasn’t there, but the confused look on his face worried you a bit. “Where are the boys? Weren’t you supposed to eat together after recording?”

You jumped on the counter and opened yourself a can. Your attitude troubled him; he was expecting you to be angry, cold, about to take your stuff and leave but not… normal. He shook his head: “Well Tico and Alec went back at their houses and Richie and David are… somewhere.” He scratched the back of his neck.

You nodded and sipped your drink. The conversation you just had with your aunt didn’t make you forget about Jon’s attitude earlier today but it jolted you enough to sort of resetting your brain. It felt like to cope with having to deal with too many emotions, your brain just didn’t feel them at all. You were about to make a senseless remark about the taste of what you were drinking when he planted himself in front of you. He had his fists clenched at his sides, closed his eyes, frowned in concentration and said without breathing: “I’m sorry, I’m stupid, I shouldn’t have reacted like that, I trust you, I really didn’t want to hurt you with what I said, I don’t want you to leave, I – he coughed and put one of his hands in his hair – we love you a lot, there are pizzas in the oven, what I said and how I acted was very stupid, I hope your aunt is well, you’re an amazing guitarist and you saved us for _No Limits_ , and if you want to read our lyrics, you can.”

You looked at him, taken aback. He slowly opened his eyes, breathed, but afraid of what you were going to say.

“Is there a particular order for answers?”

He looked at you, not knowing if he could laugh.

You smiled and put your can to the side. “Okay. Indeed, that was stupid. Really, both Richie and I told you nothing happened, why didn’t you believe us? Anyway, you recognizing you shouldn’t have reacted like that is the first step. I know you said what you said under your emotions, I love you all too, I would be glad to read your songs and I... I…” You wanted so bad to say you won’t leave.

 _So bad_.

“I forgive you and I can’t wait to eat those pizzas.” You raised a finger at him and said seriously, but with a smile. “I forgive you but I don’t forget! You can be a real bitch, you know that?” He looked at you, eyes wide opened. “Really? You do?”

Not knowing if he was making a reference about you forgiving him or his abilities to be a bitch, you simply nodded. He opened his arms and hugged you tight. “Thank you so much!” You hugged him tight too. You smiled. He moved to look at you but still held you. “I ordered the best pizzas in the city. You’ll tell me. Beware, this is a nearly Italian who is speaking.” You laughed. You kept holding him too. “You ordered the best pizzas and David and Richie aren’t there? What did you tell them to fire them from the apartment?” He blushed. You helped him avoid the question by moving and taking the gloves for the oven. You threw them at him.

“Impress me, chief!”

You let him get it out while you put on the table. Passing in front of the radio, you turned it on to have music in the background.

You both sat before your food, and Jon suddenly handled you a sheet. “Tell me what you think.”

It was lyrics. “You know, you don’t hav-”

He put his finger on his lips. You shrugged and started to read. The title _Roulette_ was on it. You read it; “ _You're just a number, it's all the same, You just love to play the game_ , got something to say Jon?” He blushed, and you laughed. “I love it, it’s very… rockish.”

“But… Those are the lyrics, how do you know the tempo?” You looked at him. _Shit_. “Well, those are not really lyrics of a power ballad.” He looked at you and squinted his eyes.

He hummed: “Yeah, fair.”

You breathed. You spent some minutes to talk about music, and he suddenly stopped mid-sentence. You watched him expectantly. “Are you ok-”

“Hey listen! I love this music.” Jon stood up and went to the radio to raise the sound. You recognized the first notes of Bruce Springsteen’s hit, _Dancing in the Dark_. He turned to you: “Have you ever heard it? It’s a new song, and I can’t stop raising the sound of the radio when it comes.” You laughed. A new song… “Yeah I already heard it. I love it.”

_I get up in the evening_

_And I ain't got nothing to say_

He started turning on himself and moved his hips on the rhythm. He winked at you and moved his hips exuberantly. You put your hands on your cheeks and laughed; “Oh man, this lame is gonna make me blush, I’m jealous.” He pressed the light switch to turn off the light. Only the soft orange rays of sunshine of the early afternoon lighted the room. He climbed on the living room table and extended his hands to you. “Ma’am? Fancy dancing in the dark with me?” You smiled. The natural light accentuated his blond locks. You caught his hand and he took you on the table.

_Man I'm just tired and bored with myself_

_Hey there baby, I could use just a little help_

You started dancing, and made the remote and papers that were on the table fall in the process. You let an “oops” escape your mouth. “Oh don’t worry about it.” He made you pass beneath his arm. “I don’t want to step on your future album and destroy it, mister the rockstar.”

“You can’t destroy something you helped to build partially.”

You looked at him right in the eyes: “Tryin’ to make me blush?”

_You can't start a fire_

_You can't start a fire without a spark_

_This gun's for hire_

_Even if we're just dancing in the dark_

He caught you and started a movement but you forced the other way. He wasn’t expecting that and huffed. “Sorry. I prefer to lead.” You said it smiling, and gripped his shoulder.

_Messages keep getting clearer_

_Radio's on and I'm moving 'round my place_

_There's something happening somewhere_

_Baby I just know there is_

He toppled you and you nearly bumped your head on the table. He let out a “shit” and you laughed. One of his hand went on your waist, yours on his shoulder. You both were in a slow dance position, and your moves slowed down a bit. “Looks like we’re becoming professional dancers here.”

_Can't start a fire_

_You can't start a fire without a spark_

_This gun's for hire_

_Even if we're just dancing in the dark_

You weren’t on the tempo anymore. You danced slowly, still on the table, a mess on the floor. The rays through the blinds drew patterns on your faces. His cheek was against the top of your head.

_I'm dying for some action_

_I'm sick of sitting 'round here trying to write this book_

_I need a love reaction_

_Come on now_

_Baby give me just one look_

You lifted your head. He looked at you and smiled. Your faces were just some centimetres away. He murmured “y/n I’m… I’m sorry about this morning. I don’t have excuses.” You put your hand on his shoulder, near his neck.

_Can't start a fire sitting_

_'round crying over a broken heart_

_This gun's for hire_

_Even if we're just dancing in the dark_

His gaze went from your eyes to your lips. You swore the gap between you tightened when…

Both of you jumped.

The strident ringing of the phone resonated in the apartment. It took you some seconds. “You should…”

“Yeah I…” He unhooked his arm from you and the heat of his body leaving made you shiver. Well, that’s what you assumed made you shiver. He went down the table and picked up the phone. “Hi, this is-” He paused in the middle of his sentence. You came down the table and switched on the light. It felt like the bubble you were in some seconds ago exploded. You watched him; his face changed; he threw you a scared look. “We’re coming.”

He hung up. “It’s Richie.” You opened wide eyes. “He is at the hospital.”


	11. Chapter 11

Both of you arrived at the front desk out of breath. You spoke first: “Hello, we come to see Richie Sambora. He’s arrived not a long time ago, with one of our friends. Where are they?”

The lady nodded and rolled on her chair to catch a phone and started to speak.

It was the hospital who called you; apparently in Richie’s wallet was a paper with two or three numbers to call in case of loss of it, or emergency. Jon’s was on it.

You slowly found back normal breathing and glanced around; the emergencies were full. It’s only now that you noticed that Jon and you were still holding hands, what you automatically did while running in the streets, to not lose each other in the crowd. Jon seemed to be thinking about it at the same time; you locked eyes for a moment and let go of each other, quickly watching in opposite directions to hide your cheeks.

“Mister Sambora? People who are there for-” When the nurse saw you, she bowed her arm to make you follow her. You were stressing a bit; you still didn’t know what happened, where David – who was supposed to be with him – was and in what state you will find him.

You thought about what the guy said to Jon through the phone. _He was bad enough for nurses to look into his wallet_ …

The nurse did lead you to rooms that were divided by curtains. You passed several beds; you tried to not look at people in it, but couldn’t help yourself. You threw Jon a scared look.

The nurse turned to you: “He risks to not remember you, and speak slowly for his understanding. If we’re lucky, he will be awake.”

It took several seconds for you to process what she just said. He may not remember you? To speak slowly for him to understand?

_If we’re lucky, he will be awake?_

Jon unconsciously pressed himself against you, and you could feel him straighten. The monotonic voice of the nurse dissented with what she said. She stopped before a closed curtain and turned to you. “Oh. Your other friend is here too.”

_David?_

You didn’t have time to think about it before she opened the curtain.

“Jon! y/n! My best friends!”

What was before your eyes was worthy of a fucking comedy.

Richie was in the hospital bed, a huge pad on his forearm. He opened his arms wide in a theatrical way when he saw you and wanted to get up, but the nurse came to him and prevented him to do it.

David was on a chair next to the bed, head against the wall and mouth opened. He was sleeping.

Richie took one of his bracelets that was on the table next to him and threw it at David’s face.

“Mister Sambora, stay calm I’ll-”

“DAVID! David wake up our friends are here!”

He seemed to emerge from a nightmare and threw you a surprised look. He put his hand on his head where the bracelet hit him. He saw it on the floor and bent to catch it; he lost balance and nearly crashed himself. He sat up and crossed looks with Richie; they both exploded.

_What. The. Actual. Fuck._

The nurse seemed to read your mind: “Your friends were found in the street near the city-centre by policemen. They seemed… agitated. They suspected drugs, of course, so brought them here before doing anything.”

You pinched the bridge of your nose. David was head against the wall again and threatened to fall back in sleep. Richie was still laughing, alone now.

“We did exams and it turned out your friends wanted to know what it did to breathe helium. It’s not dangerous like that in a small amount and once but… Don’t do it again. For the health of the body and the criminal record.” She glanced at them, and Richie doubled the volume of his laugh. It woke David up, and he looked around like he didn’t remember where he was.

Jon spoke for the first time in minutes: “Can we leave or they have to stay?”

“They are all yours.” She left, and Jon approached the bed to calm Richie and prevent him to choke. He suddenly stopped, and raised his head to look at his friend. His eyes opened wide. Was he… _Was he about to cry?_ Richie put his hand on Jon’s cheek. David pointed at them and shouted: “KISS NOW!”

You sighed and took David by the arm, putting him on his feet.

“Jon, I… You know. We just slept together tonight. We didn’t have sex. I’m sorry.” He grabbed him by the coat, nuzzled his face in Jon’s chest and started sobbing. He looked back: “Please take me back with you.” He pointed at the pad on his forearm: “Look, they took me blood, Jon, can you believe it? What are they gonna do with it?”

You sniggered. “Alright children. Let’s go home.”

-

Both of you lied in your beds, silent. The comeback has been chaotic. David found back his vitality on the way back home, and was like a toddler who just learned how to walk; he went in all directions, pointed at bright lights and gasped at big cars passing. You had to catch him back twice before he literally rushed on the avenue.

On the other side, Richie was trash; he lied on Jon’s shoulder, alternating between crying, shouting both of you “I’M SORRY” every two minutes and using an entire tissue packet to blow his nose.

When you finally came back at the apartment, Jon took a shower and put Richie in the bath – you didn’t know what else they did that evening because they fucking stank. During that, you installed David in the couch and the only thing you found to stop him from bothering you while you quickly heated the rests of your pizzas for them to eat (the nurse advised to give them a little something) was putting him in front of the television.

 _Children_.

After that, both of you went to the bedroom, leaving the guys. Seeing them like that was rather funny; but you got scared earlier.

The bathroom’s door closed and another door shut some seconds after. “At least we know he didn’t drown himself.” You laughed. The muffled sound of the television was audible; David was still in the living-room.

You heard Jon breathe deeply. The smell of his freshly washed hair filled the room. _Filled… or were you just focusing on it?_ He broke the silence: “I hope they will be good tomorrow, though.”

The atmosphere was thick. You mumbled a stupid “yeah haha” and the silence fell back. You moved the sheets a bit; _God, why was it so hot in there?_ You couldn’t stop thinking about what happened earlier. Was it your imagination, or were you about to kiss when the phone rang? Your mind was racing; but all you could think about was at conditional. You turned. Even if it was past midnight and your previous night has been short, you weren’t sleepy at all.

And even if you were; you didn’t know what was happening in the bed beside you, but the mattress’ springs were squealing from time to time. _Maybe he couldn’t manage to sleep either?_

Your mind wandered to the moment you spent with your aunt. You gripped the pillow. Gosh, you didn’t want to leave this place. Even though it was for sleeping all your life on a mattress. Even though it was for spending half of your time in recording studios. Even though it was for spending the rest of your life with the boys. _Even though to spend the end of your life with…_

The heavy silence was broken once again by a loud brushing noise. You sat up straight. “What is it?”

“Shit, I think it’s my poster. It fell down.”

The light coming from the streetlamp was powerful enough for you to see it effectively missed on the wall. That’s when Jon moved to take it away from him that you saw two little things shine in his bed. You got up quickly; “Pay attention, don’t sit on the pins.” You handed it to him.

He took it from your presented hand; the brush of his fingers on your palm tickled and sent a shiver down your spine. He thanked you and moved to his knees to pin in back. You titled your head to the side. “Wait, it’s not upright.”

You climbed on his bed behind him and held it from above. You were slightly pressed against him and his messy hair tickled your arms.

He quietly thanked the dim light to hide his lightly shaking hands and his reddening face. He cursed. The dim light didn’t have only qualities; he put the pin a little too close to his finger. More surprised than hurt, he quickly removed his hand from against the wall and turned around in one swift motion; you were right behind and was dragged with him in his movement; you fell on his lap, and the poster on both of you.

All of this happened in not more than ten seconds. You removed the poster that covered your head to the side, to discover Jon holding his hand close to his chest, surprise painted on his face, watching you with wide eyes.

You took his hand, like you were going to notice some scratch on it in the darkness. “Are you OK? Did you put a pin in your finger or…?”

You stopped your sentence and looked at him.

He looked at you.

You don’t know how long you spent eyeing each other in the darkness, only enlightened by the outside. It seemed like the world around you stopped working. You both didn’t know if you were breathing anymore, and stayed mouths slightly opened and breaths getting ragged.

You noticed at that moment that you were actually straddling him. _But you didn’t move_. Your heart was pounding in your chest, and your blood boiling. His chest was heaving, and the tip of his tongue discreetly moistened his dry lips. _But you noticed it._ His right hand slowly moved to your cheek. His other, that was still in yours, moved in a way it now held it tightly.

From the moment you took the poster away to now, your gaze never left his. You’re not even sure you blinked. Slowly, he leaned forward. Both of you closed your eyes; your noses brushed and your faces assembled like they were designed for this. He delicately put his lips on yours. You responded immediately, and your free hand flew tangle itself in his hair.

He let your hand go and went to your waist to pull you flush against him.

You detached your lips, out of breath, but kept your foreheads together. You suddenly heard someone in the corridor, and a door shutting next to Jon’s room. He brought his lips to your jaw, and reached your ear. “We’ll have to be quiet.”

You shivered as the air from his lips fanned over your skin. “Shit. I’ve never been good at that.”


	12. Chapter 12

You slowly woke up.

The light of the rising sun passed between the blinds and heated the room. You were scratching your eyes when you felt a breathing fanning on your shoulders.

 _Oh_.

Everything came back to your mind, and you felt a pleasant heat in your lower belly.

You shifted a bit and the two arms that held you close tightened. You couldn’t help but smile.

“THEY CALLED US! OH MY GOD, THEY CALLED US!”

You heard muffled screams in the corridor, and steps approaching. You felt Jon move behind you.

The door suddenly opened, and you were still surprised it hasn’t flown across the room.

“THE FEST- oops- I didn’t see anything!”

You actually opened your eyes now to see David at the door frame, hands on his eyes. Jon let go of you, and scratched his eyes. You both sat up. “What the fuck dude… Do you know the concept of knocking?”

You stirred and laughed: “Or the helium hasn’t evacuated his body completely.”

Jon turned to you and smiled. Richie passed his head through the frame. He didn’t seem to notice David was still hiding eyes behind his hands, or both of you naked in the bed; “Jon, you won’t believe it! You see the annual festival they do in the great field not far from here? They called us! We’re gonna play tonight!”

Jon gasped. “We… What?”

You let out: “You guys have a real problem with deadlines.”

“Yeah, a group cancelled and they saw us at the television the other day. Guys…” You could tell he was excited. “Fuck let me hug you.”

He nearly jumped on the bed and took both of you in his arms.

He held you tightly. “Oh and…” He moved back to look at you. ‘It was about time.”

You laughed. Richie suddenly got back. “y/n! You should play with us.” David finally removed his hands and agreed. He seemed to remember and took something from his pocket: “Oh, and this was in the mailbox this morning.” He handled you a little envelope, with your name written on it.

Certainly your aunt. You felt a cold shiver run down your spine.

Something was wrong.

“Guys, do you mind if…?”

“Oh yeah. See you at breakfast.”

Both guys left. Jon turned to you: “I thought they would never leave.” He took the envelope from your hands, put it on the bedside table, and threw back the bedsheets on you. “Where were we?”

-

Nothing was wrong.

Everything was right, totally right. Your aunt finished the watches. You were going back to 2019. Back to normal. And you hated yourself for how you were feeling.

You were tapping the letter with your fingers.

_y/n_

_I did it!_

_Let’s go home._

_Meet me tonight, round 7.30pm where you landed the other day._

_Love you_

You sighed. You were sat at the kitchen table. Richie was washing something down the sink, and David and Jon were at their shifts.

You turned on your stool and looked at him. It was the first time you were alone with him since…

“Richie?”

He turned. “Yeah?”

You gulped. You felt the insides of your eyes tickle.

He frowned: “Are you alright?”

You managed to let out a “no” before breaking down.

-

“Ok. Here is what I think.” You looked at him. He actually remembered your conversation of the other night.

All of it.

You didn’t know if the most absurd thing was that he kept everything in mind despite what was flooding in his veins at that moment or that he believed you.

Richie was holding your letter in his hands. After seeming to hesitate, he told you what he thought: “Don’t tell them anything and go there when you have to.”

You opened wide eyes. “You… you want me to leave without saying the truth to the others? Without saying goodbye?”

“I will.” He took your hand in his.

“Ho-”

“I will tell them the truth.” He glanced at the clock. “They will soon come back, but we’ll have to leave for rehearsals. Just…”

Indeed, they came back soon. Richie quickly let your hand go and you shoved the letter in your pocket when you heard steps. David and Jon opened the door and joined you. They noticed your weird faces. “What happened? Don’t tell me there is a problem for tonight?”

You shook your head and forced a smile: “No, my aunt just called, it seemed urgent. I have to join her.” Jon presented a rather sad face: “Shit, I hope it’s not serious. And I hope you’ll be on time for the show.”

Richie and you exchanged a look.

David watched the clock and said: “Don’t you think we should go there? To get ready and all. We’ll perform a new song, it would be cool to repeat it again.” Jon and Richie nodded. David told you: “See you there then!”

“Wait!”

He stopped in his tracks and frowned. “Are you alright?”

You tried to control the muscles of your face a maximum. “Yeah don’t worry I… Guys. Let me hug you.”

You advanced and took David in your arms. He seemed surprised, but gave you your hug back. ‘For good luck.”

He smiled. “No need good luck, you’ll be there!” He got back and winked at you.

You then turned to Richie. During the three seconds that you shared a look before hugging, he gave you a sad smile. Before breaking apart, he gave you a quick kiss on your forehead.

“David, we go?” The keyboardist nodded and followed him. Before closing the door, Richie looked at you. “Bye.”

You waved back.

He closed the door.

You breathed deeply.

“Wow, he seems stressed doesn’t he.” You turned to Jon. “I told you he was easily stressed. See his face.” He smiled at you and approached. He took you by the waist and brought you against him.

You put your arms around him and nuzzled your face in his neck. He put his chin on your head.

“Personally, I’m not stressed. Outside festivals always have good vibes. And I can’t wait to play with you too.” Your grip tightened. “I know you don’t know the song we’ll play, but I’m sure you’ll improvise well. You’ll tell me what you think about the lyrics though.” He moved his head to look at you and smiled.

You looked at him.

He suddenly raised eyebrows, like he just remembered something: “I’ll join the guys now, but before you leave, go in my room.” You opened your mouth. “Shh, surprise. Take it for tonight.” He unhooked his arms from your waist and gave you a quick peck on your lips.

And in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Like if it was the only thing left to do, you headed to his room. It was like your legs were walking alone. You opened the room and saw it. It was like a hundred daggers planted themselves in your heart. You fell on your knees.

The bright turquoise guitar you used the very first day at the record shop laid on his bed, a red ribbon tied around its neck.


	13. Chapter 13

Richie was sat on the platform where the drums were, observing Jon, some meters away, at the piano.

He was writing some words on a sheet and tapping some notes from time to time. He was smiling. Richie sighed, and suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. David sat next to him and opened a can. He showed Jon: “It’s been a long time he hasn’t had so many ideas. He writes all the time, I think our second album will be completed within three months.” He shrugged. “And I have an idea about the source of so much inspiration.”

He was pretty proud of his sentence, and turned to watch his friend following the lack of reaction. “Are-”

The guitarist got up. “Guys.” David frowned. “Guys!” Jon turned to the insistent tone of his friend. Richie passed his hand through his air. His heart was already heavy, but what he was about to do added. “We need to talk.”

-

You turned and entered the lonely street. You breathed deeply and put the guitar back on your shoulder.

You proceeded to the small garage; your aunt was already there, preparing stuff. You looked outside one last time; the sunset gave the sky a light pink colour.

“y/n! Look.”

Your aunt made you enter and started blabbering about technical stuff.

You were half-listening to her.

She tied the watch around her wrist and laughed about how the guy at the shop she bought her stuff in was weird, or how she avoided eating too much to not get sick, because apparently the other day…

Why? Why was she so happy while you were a complete mess?

It was unfair from you, but it pissed you off. You held the strap of the guitar case tightly. She approached you and you felt her tone getting a bit more serious; she was certainly telling you information about the travel.

She put her hands on your shoulders and you came out of your thoughts.

You had to tell her how you felt.

You opened your mouth to-

“And that’s why I tell you goodbye.”

You stopped.

 _What_?

She caressed your cheek and took something from her back pocket. You were reactionless; she had to take your hand and put it in yours. “Look. In the letter. I wrote ‘Let’s go home’, right? And I think you found yours.” She pointed at the machine in your hand, that was nearly identical to her watch. “It’s a transmitter. There is a keyboard on the screen, so you can-”

You jumped in her arms. Tears were rolling down your cheeks. You wanted to say something. You had a thousand things to say… Yet nothing came out. She looked at you, knowing. She took your hands: “Now go. I believe you’ve got something to catch back.”

-

Jon swiped the audience with his gaze. In about fifteen minutes, they will perform their new song in front of all of these people, but he wasn’t stressing. Anxiety was not the feeling he felt at that moment. He turned to the right. The last time he did that before playing, it was… Never mind. Richie was tuning his guitar, then raised his head, feeling his best friend’s gaze on him. His smiled, with a hint of sadness, knowing.

A little further, David was repeating his parts on a keyboard. It was a new song, Jon wrote it some days ago, they only repeated it twice this afternoon, but he really insisted on playing it, and didn’t change his mind. No one resisted.

-

You were running. The evenings of mid-September were beginning to get cold, but the blood in your veins was boiling.

You were approaching the festival; you could hear the music from where you were. You looked at your watch; 7.43pm. The clock was ticking. You crossed a street without watching, and a car had to stop short to avoid you, honking. You shouted “Sorry!”, putting your hands up in the process, and carried on running.

You arrived at the entry of the festival, that guards were keeping. _Shit._ A ticket. You needed a ticket to enter, but didn’t have any of course.

You tried to go in without watching the staff, but a huge arm popped up in front of you. “Hey, if you want to enter, show me your ticket.”

Your mind was racing. “A ticket?” You blinked. “But isn’t it free for musicians’ families?”

The guy exchanged a look with his colleague. Ok, it wasn’t, maybe, the first time they heard that.

“Yes indeed. But if you are, you have been given a special pass that you should have on you.”

“Well that’s the problem actually. I forgot it.”

The guard sighed. “Please miss, leave now or I will have to call the security.”

You didn’t know what to do. “I swear to you, please inform the staff inside, just tell them I am…” Then it hit you. “Tell them I’m Richie Sambora’s twin sister. I’m the sister of Bon Jovi’s lead guitarist, he will perform on the stage in some minutes, right? I don’t want to miss my brother’s concert, please. Just tell them, I’ll wait here. Please.”

Maybe it is because your story was somehow coherent, maybe it is because you looked very desperate, or because he didn’t want to get tired insisting with you, the guard said: “OK, I’ll do it.”

You stopped yourself from jumping in his arms. After many “thank you”, you went a bit on the side and tried to see the stage. The very last notes of the song played, to let place to applauds. A pre-recorded voice informed it was now a five-minute break, and then another group will take the stage. You saw the security guy take his talkie, and put it back on his buckle a minute after. He turned to you and nodded.

-

“Mister Sambora?” Richie was repeating the song in his head when a security guard popped next to him. “I’m sorry to bother you, I’m sure it’s nothing, but there is a lady asking for you at the entry.” David, who was next to him, chuckled. “Richie, what did you do again?”

The guitarist smirked and looked at the staff member: “Uh… Did she give a name?”

David gave him a tap. “Like you remember their names…”

They laughed.

The man coughed. “No, but she said she was your twin sis-” He didn’t have the time to finish; Richie got up so fast he nearly pushed David on the ground. “What did you say?” The man opened his mouth to repeat, but got cut by Tico shouting, some meters away near the stairs that lead to the stage: “Guys we start soon, we could go on the stage already for arrangements?”

Jon, who was sat on the first step of the stairs got up and followed.

Richie turned to the man: “Make her enter. She probably forgot her pass, make her enter now, or she will miss the show!” The staff member got a bit surprised from the hurry the musician seemed in suddenly, and finally moved. The guitarist caught him back: “Bring her at the very front of the stage. Now!”

-

“And now please welcome Bon Jovi!”

The crowd began to cheer up to the entry of the band on stage. In the distance, you heard the sound of drumsticks being slapped together, and then the music started. You soon recognized the characteristic keyboard.

_On the streets where you live_

_Girls talk about their social lives._

_They're made of lipstick, plastic and paint_

_A touch of sable in their eyes._

You knew it would take some minutes for your request to be heard, but time seemed to have been tripled. _Time…_ Fucking time. It has been playing a lot with you lately.

_But you were living in another world_

_Tryin' to get your message through._

_No one heard a single word you said._

_They should have seen it in your eyes_

_What was going around your head._

And what if they didn’t believe you? Maybe the security guy didn’t do anything. Or maybe he called the security. And the guys? Why would they believe you after all? It already took time for you to understand what was happening. Maybe they won’t want you anymore.

_Ooh, she's a little runaway_

_Daddy's girl learned fast_

_All those things he couldn't say._

_Ooh, she's a little runaway._

Maybe… Maybe it was a bad idea after all. When you thought about it, they had plenty of reasons to turn their back at you.

_On the neon Broadway signs_

_She don't really mind_

_It's only love she hoped to find_

“Miss Sambora?” You raised your head. The security guy had moved towards you. “Please follow me.” You didn’t know what you expected, but a shiver ran down your spine. All hopes had left you in one minute, but now you were completely lost. You absent-mindedly followed the staff member in a path next to the crowd. The festival wasn’t that big, but people were there in number and piled up. You heard the guitar solo start. In some seconds, you came close to the stage. “Your brother asked us to place you just before the stage. There is a lot of people, so push a bit.” He opened a barrier and moved a bit some people to help you pass. Some pouted, but you managed to find yourself a place at the very front. It’s only when you lifted your head that you noticed where you really were: your torso was nearly against the stage. In fact, Richie was just one meter away from you. He was still in his solo, concentrated. Jon was next to him, moving on the beat.

You needed to attract his attention. He had to know you were there. _Now._

You shouted his name, but of course, he didn’t hear it.

At least you tried.

He moved to the mic, closer to the edge.

_No one heard a single word you said._

_They should have seen it in your eyes_

_What was going around your head_

The guy next to you had a can in his hand. You shouted at him: “Is it empty?”

He turned to you, a huge interrogation point painted on his face. You sighed and took it from his hands.

It was empty.

You crushed it. _He is not even two meters away… you can do it._ You aimed at his legs, and touched him.

_Ooh, she's a little runaway-_

He carried on, but frowned seeing the crushed can at his feet. He then made the trajectory of it with his gaze and glanced in your direction.

Then he saw you.

It was in the middle of the chorus, where the four others were still singing. David and Tico, at the back of the stage, didn’t notice anything and carried on singing. You’re not sure that they heard Jon stopped due to the poor back-up. Alec was at the opposite part of the stage, he didn’t change his attitude either.

Richie, who saw the can episode, followed Jon’s look and saw you too; he knew it. He simply smiled and suddenly headed to you. You could read “Come!” on his lips. He reached out to you and caught you under your armpits to lift you on the stage. You grabbed his shoulders and pushed on the edge with your feet to propel yourself, put your guitar – who was on your back since the beginning – on the side and advanced to Jon. He looked at you, mouth agape.

In the background, the three others carried on singing, and the crowd was still cheering; you weren’t even sure people after five meters in the public noticed what was going on.

Richie took the main mic and sang louder. He proceeded to the centre of the stage, leaving you alone… In front of a lot of people.

But it didn’t matter, they weren’t existing anymore. You came in front of Jon. What to say? Well… Was there anything to say after all? You opened your mouth, but he mouthed: “I know.”

You wanted to say it, so you caught him by the shoulders and approached your mouth to his ear, to cover the surrounding sound.

“I’m sorry.”

He put his hands on your sides. “I’m sorry I didn’t say it earlier. But you know, the other day you said you hoped I would find a place I could call home.” He tightened his grip. You removed your head and looked at him. You simply nodded.

He took your face in his hands and simply kissed you.

Richie looked at you and pointed:

_Ooh, she's a little runaway_

_Daddy's girl learned fast_

_Now she works the night away_

You smiled through the kiss. You weren’t running away anymore.

_Fin._


End file.
